Chapter 21

This time the tone is gone, and it’s a request with a little underlying plea. I hold in the urge to beg him to talk more now and push the tears aside, clinging onto hope that maybe face to face it will be something good, not what I fear, and nod into my empty room. Heaviness consuming me as heartache gnaws at my stomach and chest. I'll be there. I sound deflated, sad. Close to breaking, with a raw huskiness in my tone that I can’t conceal, I wait for him to close the link between us. Like waiting for something painful to happen, and I hold my breath. Alora? I’m ... I wish it didn't have to be this way. I'm sorry that it was me. Before I have time to reply to that strained, husky reply, he closes off, and I physically feel the link between us go dead. My mind is quieting back to solitary, and I know he’s gone. Even with a bond, a mate can choose to close the communication channel at will, and he did like he has been doing for days. I stare at the wall numbly, lost in the moment and how